Splice bar



NOV. 19, 1929. c, BALDWIN 1,736,032 I SPLI CE BAR Filed Oct. 22, 1928 ATTORNEY:

Patented Nov. 19, 1929 SPLIGELB R Application filed October 22, 192 Seria1"1 To.'3 14,067.

My invention relates to improvements in splice bars more especially for use on the rails of logging rail roads.

V The practice in logging heavy timber in the North West is to not only build a rail road from the shipping point to the timber but also to build spur rail roads into the timber to which logs are brought on overhead cables from as wide an area as practi- 10 cable. When such an area is logged off the rails and ties of the spur road are taken up and used in building another spur road into the timber of an adj oining area.

Because of the temporary nature of the service required of these spur roads they are not put down with the care and thoroughness accorded the laying of rail roads for longerperiods of use.

The heavy traffic on these spur roads is oneway and the rail creeping due to braking the heavy logging trains passing thereover is considerable. This is especially true when the spur roads are on steep hillsides from which much of the timber logged is now be ing taken. I r j g No successful wayhas been found to stop this rail movement and it is accepted as unavoidable.

When the ties are prevented from creeping laterally with the longitudinal creeping of the rails and the rails are fastened thereto in amanner to prevent the rails from creeping over such a tie, it not infrequently happens that such a tie is forced to roll beneath the rail and cause a bend in'the rail sometimes resulting in train derailment.

The splice bars, or fish plates, aremost frequent causes of these objectionable tie displacements. While it is not the practice on spur logging rail roads to drive spikes in the notches usually provided in the flange edges of splice bars, the spikes being driven along the straight edges thereof; yet the ends of the flanges of the splice bars are square and 45 these ends abut the spikes in the adjacent tie when the same is reached due to rail creeping and sometimes cause this tie to roll beneath the rail with consequent track displacement. Also it sometimes happens that pressure from the flange ends will bend the spikes' over the flanges may then pass on top thereof and causea displacementdifiicultto repair.

" This improvenienthas for an objectito providea splice bar which will pull an'd bend backward from the rails therail' spikeswhich the ends thereof reach during the creeping ofthe rails r r I attain this andother objects of my improvement with the device illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawings, forminga part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my splicebar, Fig. 2 is an end elevation of Fig.1 and Fig. '3 is v a plan view of the abutting ends of two rail road rails joined with twojof my splice bars I in place on the ties of a rail road with the remainder of the rail road brokenaway. I

Similar characters refer to similar parts throughout. V a

With 'more particular reference to thedesignated parts: Myv splice bar consists of L y web 4 with bolt holes a therethrough and flange 5 with diagonal ends 6, 6 having beveled edges 7,7. l q

In Fig. 3 rails 8, 8'with flanges a abut' i and arejoined by splice bars 4, 5 and 4," 5. The spliced rail ends are mounted on ties 10, 10, 10 held in place thereon by spikes 11. f Said splice barsare clamped to the rails iby so bolts 9.

Now assume that the rails are caused to i I i very slowly move over the ties and beneath the spike heads. ;Eventually one of diagonal beveled edges 7 will pass beneath the head of one ofspikes 11 andslowly pull the spikes as it shoves it backward away from the rail flange. Later the spike head-on the opposite rail flange will be reached by the beveled diagonal forward end of the splice baron the other sideof the rail and this spike also will be lifted and forced outward from the rail and, if the situation is not corrected, the continued rail creeping will force these spikes outward till the full-width parts of the flanges of the splice bars are on the tie in which said spikes are driven.

Because the spikes are first lifted before being forced outward by the beveled diagonal flange ends their slow displacement may occur Without exerting so greata lateral force on the tie that it may retain its operative position beneath the rail. In due time, of

course, the track repair crew discovers the displacement of the spikes and make repairs, Which, in this case, are not unusually difficult.

Having thus disclosed. my invention, 'what I claim as new therein anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is,-'

A rail-road rail splice 7 eb and flange members the ends of said flange member disposed diagonally towardthe center thereof and beveled from the top outward toward the bottom thereof provid ing a chisel edgeonveach end of said flange memberadapted to bear flatwise on a cross tie and the outer edge of said flange member having neither notches nor otherispike-engagement means therein.

; o CLARENCE io. BALDWIN.

M257 is bar consisting of 

